What Would Happen If?
Writer and priest Malcolm Doney argues that imagination is central to human existence, development and preservation.
Writer and priest Malcolm Doney argues that imagination is central to almost every decision we make. For Malcolm, conscious, imaginative thinking is essentially the basis of what it means to be human.
Malcolm draws upon the story of Jesus who himself left no written manifesto. In his physical absence, Jesus' followers were left with the imaginative project of living lives modelled on his. They had to re-imagine a new life without him.
Malcolm explores the work of Nobel Prize winner Peter Medawar, historian Yuval Noah Harari, as well as poets John Koethe and Emily Dickinson. Using this diverse array of sources, Malcolm reveals that imagination is vital to the progress of science and lies at the beating heart of music. He concludes that ultimately, imagination is fundamental to empathy and at the core of that most life-giving command "love thy neighbour as thyself".
Presenter: Malcolm Doney
Producer: Jonathan O'Sullivan
A TBI Media production for Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 4.
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Music Played
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Emile Pandolfi
Pure Imagination
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Michael Levy
Hurrian Hymn
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Joseph Haydn
The Creation, Part 1 No. 1 Die Vorstellung des Chaos (The Representation of Chaos)
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Joseph Haydn
The Creation, Hob.XXI/2, Part I: 7. And God said, Let the earth
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Mavis Staples
You Are Not Alone
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Jackson Browne
About My Imagination
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Brooklyn Duo
Pure Imagination
Readings
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Title: ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
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Publisher: ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Oxford University Press
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Title: ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Creation Myths
Author: ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý John Koethe
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Title: ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý The World is Not Conclusion
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Publisher: ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Harvard University Press
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Title: ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý An Experiment in Criticism
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Publisher: ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Cambridge University Press
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Title: ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Design by Nature
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Title: ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý The Gleam of an Heroic Act
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Publisher: ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Harvard University Press
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